Why productivity matters
Productive companies get more out of what they’ve got, enabling them to increase their profits, pay higher wages and invest in their future. More productive businesses mean a more prosperous country. Discover why productivity matters below.
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Leadership & Strategy
Article
A management structure that provides autonomy and empowerment
Launching a brave and new product meant taking a long hard look at Decoded’s management structure and practices – whatever positives or negatives that uncovered.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
The highs and lows of thriving as a business in a pandemic
Tonic Health founder Sunna van Kampen looks back on the coronavirus outbreak period and explains what he's learnt from a 1000 per cent demand increase.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
If you don’t think your business needs to improve you’re kidding yourself
Believing that a business, and the management team at the helm, should never stop trying to improve, Geometric Manufacturing managing director Paul Wenham explains why it can be such an effective outlook.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Peter Bibby: I hate waste and I’m efficiency mad
We spoke with Peter Bibby, an expert in turning around failing businesses, with over 20 survival stories under his belt. He shares with us the importance of efficiency and what it takes to make a small and medium-size enterprise successful.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
A look at why productivity really matters for UK businesses
While many in the small and medium-sized business (SME) community might associate productivity with manufacturing and "output per hour", there are a number of less direct contributing factors.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Customer feedback keeps Polhawn Fort ahead of trends
Sarah Turpitt, General Manager of the Polhawn Fort stays ahead of the trends by listening to customer feedback and collaborating with local producers.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Video
Three tips for improving your business’s productivity
Andrew Peters, from Siemens, passes on three tips for improving your business’s productivity, based on his experiences in business over the past twenty years.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
SMEs decide if pivots are permanent or passing trends
Some businesses have responded to coronavirus by altering services or doing something completely new. We look at how SMEs are pivoting to protect revenues.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
How to find work-life balance in family businesses
Family businesses provide a feeling of togetherness but differences in opinion can wreak havoc on relationships. Business owners share their advice.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
How to build a self-managing business
Pete Fraser has never been one for micro-managing and has built a self-managing business that let's him get his head out of the sound more often than most.
Improve your own leadership capabilities
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Go behind the scenes at The Headland Hotel
It’s one of the most iconic hotels in all of Cornwall, with a history dating back over 100 years, but Darryl Reburn and the team at The Headland Hotel have a decidedly modern approach to business.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Productive meetings – Ditch mobiles and risk being kicked out
They’re critical for communication and collaboration, but what is the secret to productive meetings? Be the Business showcases eight innovative and original approaches to driving efficiencies.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
If you’re not learning from competitors then how can you ever improve?
Businesses adept at learning from competitors are always looking for ways to improve, whether that’s avoiding the mistakes close counterparts make or exploiting industry trends to stay ahead of the pack.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Weighing up quick business wins with longer-burn strategies
It may be tempting to launch into a series of grand plans designed to catapult your company to the next level, but ignoring quick business wins could mean you struggle with momentum.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
A look at the management style changes made by successful business leaders
Whether they realise it or not, leaders in everything from business to sport have a management style. What separates the best from also rans is the ability to change this style as the environment around them evolves.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
A flat management structure can empower staff during rapid growth
A flat management structure gets rid of traditional hierarchies and empowers employees. We looked at the benefits and potential drawbacks.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Stuck in a lift with 10 business leaders – what would you ask?
Series one of the It's The Small Things podcast featured ten small change champion CEOs, founders and leaders. Take a quick tour to find out was learnt.
Improve your own leadership capabilities
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Want the best day of your career? Join an advisory board
Our interim finance director, Regina Lombard, joined our Advisory Board programme for family businesses and had one of the best days of her career.
Seek external advice
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Learnings from a 133 year-old family bakery business
An Open Business Days event gave 30 family firms the chance to extract learnings from Frank Roberts & Sons, a fifth generation bakery operation.
Seek external advice
Leadership & Strategy
Article
How to manage a six-fold increase in demand – the challenges and opportunities of thriving in a pandemic
Cash flow forecasting firm Float has seen a six-fold increase in demand during coronavirus. CEO Colin Hewitt explains how he's met that increase in demand.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Thriving in a pandemic? How SMEs can sustain success
Thriving SMEs have significantly ramped up production during the pandemic. We look at the challenges and opportunities of managing rapid growth.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Creating an environment that welcomes suggestions and objective feedback
Businesses which fail to provide a way for staff to provide objective feedback on their working world are missing out on a wealth of insight that would help drive productivity.
Leadership Behaviours
Leadership & Strategy
Article
What you can learn from Ceviche’s Martin Morales
At a Be the Business masterclass business leaders shared what they learned from the Ceviche story and how they would use it to make their firms even better.
Improve your own leadership capabilities
Leadership & Strategy
Article
Bosses don’t have to be their staff’s best friends
In trying to be a friend to each of his employees one business leader ultimately found it harder to have the difficult conversations when they did arise.
Leadership Behaviours